I’m passionate about empowering women and helping to close the gender gap in senior leadership. 

I spent 18 years in tech and biotech sales, holding positions as a VP and EVP, Sales. Along the way I introduced many brand new technologies to market, built a commercial organization from scratch, and scaled a hyper-growth team to achieve 9 digit revenue growth in 2 years.

Despite this success, I struggled for years with my transition from Manager to Director to VP, and even asked myself if I was cut out to be a senior executive.  

Finally, I ‘figured it out’ and had the confidence, knowledge and skills that I needed to be an impactful leader. 

My mission at Insights to Action is to help others get there by sharing what I’ve learned.

I want to use my passion to help more women transition to senior leadership and help leaders make that leap from unsure and unfocused to strategic, decisive and outcome driven - all without burning out. My goal is to help women thrive as executives, instead of merely surviving. 

I would love to work with you on your journey and look forward to connecting!

Read about what some of my clients are saying: https://www.insightstoactioncc.com/testimonials

Katy McFee

I help women become execs and thrive in leadership - Former Exec | Certified Coach | Forbes.com contributor

At Insights to Action I help female execs and aspiring female leaders become the leaders they want to be and thrive as executives all without burning out. 

I offer group coaching programs for women looking to break through to executive leadership and 1:1 immersive executive coaching for current execs who want to level up and show up as the amazing, effective leaders they know they can be, while still living a life they love.

My goals don’t include my kids,

I go on vacations without my kids,

I take girls trips that are just for me,

My partner and I have a date night every 2 weeks,

I prioritize my morning meditation and exercise daily,

And I’m still a great mom.

As women, we often feel this pull to be the perfect mom and dedicate every part of ourselves to our kiddos

And a pull in the opposite direction to be the best we can be at work and prove we're all in

It’s damn exhausting
It’s a losing game
And I quit

I adore my kids and love my family

But I am still my own person
I still need my own time
I need my own goals

And I don't apologize for it ✌️💜

PS. And to all the mommas out there, you’re doing great ❤️

Follow me Katy McFee for more posts on women in leadership

#1 in helping women become VPs and thrive in leadership | Former Exec | Certified Coach | Forbes.com contributor | Host of More Women Promoted Podcast

Friendly reminder that you don’t have to:
Go cold turkey on alcohol
Eat 400g of protein
Cold plunge daily
Wake up at 5am
Do ayahuasca
Quit your 9-5
Move to Bali

In fact...

You don't have to delay your morning caffeine 
You don't have to start every day with a savoury breakfast

The goal of life is not 100% optimization of everything!

It's also meant to be enjoyed...

And while social media will have you believing everyone on the planet is doing all of this
(And that drinking oat milk will kill you)

I promise you they aren't
(And it won't) 

Many successful people are doing none of these things

In fact, I became a successful VP and EVP
Without following any of this advice

Literally I did zero of these things.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge proponent of healthy living:

These days I rarely drink
(But I do occasionally when I'm celebrating) 

I try to get 8hr of sleep
(But I usually end up getting 7.5)

I exercise and meditate daily
(But I skip some days)

I think we can go TOO far trying to reach perfection

And we forget to occasionally sleep in, eat the croissant and just enjoy life

So in case you need it... here's your reminder:
You’re not failing if you live life like a regular person

And only you know what is right for you ✌️💜

♻️  Hit Repost if more people need to see this.

Follow me Katy McFee for more posts on women in leadership

Dating advice you can apply to your career:

For a little Friday fun - here's my top 4:

1. Early red flags rarely get better. They usually get worse.

Dating: Too many of us have dated somewhere where we saw the early signs, but ignored them. If there are early red flags, they're going to get a lot worse. 

Career: HR was dismissive in the interview and they took a week to get back with next steps...
Listen to your gut.  This may not be the dream job you were hoping for. 

2. Actions speak louder than words. 

Dating: He says he really likes you, but blows off plans and doesn't text you back...
He's just not that into you. 

Career: Your manager keeps telling you how much they value you, 
But you get passed over at every promotion cycle...

He's not going to promote you unless something changes. 

3. Just because they look great on paper, doesn't mean they're the one. 

Dating: We've all dated the guy who was SO perfect on paper!
Great job, nice to his mom, treats us well.  But you just don't feel it...

Career: This job is so perfect on paper!
Well-known company, great pay, lots of perks. But the culture sucks and people are toxic....

In both cases, move on.

4. Don't rely on someone else to make you happy. Work on yourself. 

Dating: You need to make yourself happy to be happy in a relationship. 
Do the work, the healthy relationship will follow.

Career: Don't rely on your boss to get you promoted. Work on yourself.
If your manager isn't helping to carve the path, take ownership and find mentorship outside of them. 

Do the work, and the promotion will follow. 

What did I miss? ✌️💜

6 more months, and things will slow down

I told my (now ex) husband that more times than I can count

And at the time, I really believed it!!

I just needed to lean in for 6 more months
And then we'd start to see the results we wanted...

And I could:
- Travel less
- Be more present
- Put my phone away
- Stop making work the priority

But you know what?
6 months never came,
And I missed a lot.

I remember leaving for a 10 day 'Euro-tour' 
To meet all of the KOLs in our space in Paris, London and Amsterdam

And truthfully, I was really excited about the opportunity

But leaving for the airport while my not-even-1-year-old was pulling himself up on the ottoman

Practically broke my heart

And I discovered the concept of everything being a trade-off 

This is your friendly reminder that when you put your real life on hold 
For 6 months,
Or a year
Or more

You miss out on real things

That doesn't mean you should work hard for what you want
But ask yourself what your non-negotiables are

And make those trade-offs with intention

Because - believe it or not - you can have both hustle and boundaries 
And save some regret along the way ✌️💜

3 rules for an exec with ADHD

Because the truth is, conventional advice may not work for you!
(A lot of it didn't work for me...)

Before I knew I had ADHD, I beat myself up because I assumed that my lack of executive function made me a failure or a bad leader. 

But once I figured out how to harness the good and mitigate the rest, everything changed. 

These are what helped me go from struggling to crushing it:

1. Stop trying to strengthen your weak areas

Seriously. Instead, spend as much time as possible in your zone of genius.

We have a brain of interest, so spending time doing things we hate is a recipe for low productivity or a crappy work product.

One of the best things I ever did was get serious about outsourcing, automating and delegating the things I hate. 

My impact increased significantly once I did that. 

2. Rely on systems, not your brain

I could come up with a great strategic insight, but always forgot that appointment.
This drove me bonkers. 

Hard truth: Yes, you may lack in executive functioning, 
But that doesn't mean you get to drop the ball. 

It means you need to create systems to ensure things get done. 

Find what works for you: a Trello board, your calendar, a VA... and use it diligently. 

3. Don't eat the frog first!

We've all heard the leadership advice to 'eat the frog first,' which means to tackle that big task that you don't want to do before anything else. 

This does NOT work for people with ADHD! 

We already lack dopamine, so we often need a fix before we're ready to eat the frog...

Instead, pick a dopamine-producing task to do first, 
Then move on to the big daunting thing you'd rather not do. 

For me, this would involve checking my sales dashboards and metrics, 
Then tackling the task I didn't want to do. 

I learned that you CAN be a successful executive with ADHD
But sometimes that means throwing conventional wisdom out the window

If you're getting leadership advice that doesn't work for your brain, forget it

Lean into what makes you great,
And outsource, delegate or automate the rest

You've got this ✌️💜

I've met tons of bright, ambitious and hard-working women
Who are crushing it, in terms of talent

But using language and mannerisms that undermine their skills and abilities.

And I'll be blunt - this is preventing them from landing the roles they want.

Here are 5 examples that you should watch out for:

1. Constantly apologizing
Why: Over-apologizing undermines your authority

2. Raising your voice at the end of a sentence (ie. uptalk)
Why: Makes you seem unsure and unconfident

3. Twirling your hair in meetings 
Why: Can convey a lack of seriousness and distracts your listener

4. Sharing ideas as questions
Why: Makes you seem less confident and unsure about the idea.

5. Using filler phrases and qualifiers
Why: Your ideas will be taken less seriously

When it comes to language, here are 3 to avoid starting today (seriously):

"This may be a dumb idea but...."
"Does that make sense?"
"I'm not the expert but..."

Remember: it's not only the quality of your ideas that's important...

The WAY you share them is equally important
Maybe even more important!

As women, many of us have been conditioned to use these communication styles so we are seen as less dominant. 
We don't want to be 'bossy'.

But once you hit the workplace, holding on to these habits can mean:
- You're less likely to be seen as a leader
- Your ideas won't get the credit they deserve
- People won't take you as seriously

I consciously began using more empowering language (and body language) and saw a real difference.

You can too ✌️💜

Has anyone else caught themselves doing any of these things and decided to break the habit?

♻️  Repost to share these tips!

PS. Check out the comments for my free guide on simple language reframes you can use to start communicating like a confident and collaborative leader!

My job didn't suddenly become toxic - I'd ignored the red flags 

The first ones were there even in the interview process

- It had felt like the day from hell
- 2 senior interviewers were rude and aggressive to me
- I felt judged by many of the people I interacted with - even over lunch!

But I told myself that it wasn't a big deal...

- I wouldn't be reporting to the managers who were so rude
- I'm sure that 'vibe' I felt didn't mean anything
- This was such a great opportunity

In the end, I was gone within 2 years.

6 months after I was hired, I started reporting to one of those managers
And the other one was his boss!

The vibe I felt was very real, and trust on the team was low
Constant gossip and backstabbing

My dream job had become a nightmare

But it taught me a valuable lesson:

To treat the interview process as an opportunity to learn the people and culture
And see if it's actually somewhere you want to work

I was so dead-set on landing the role, 
I wasn't even asking myself if this was the right company for me

So, this is your friendly reminder:

The interview process goes both ways
They are evaluating you, 
And you should put your best foot forward,

But you are also evaluating them
And if you don't like what you see during the interview process
It's probably not going to get better once you start

Pay attention to the red flags friends
They rarely turn green ✌️💜

♻️ Repost if more people need to hear this

As women, we get some terrible career advice!
Here are my top 3 for worst advice we give women:

#3. "Just advocate for yourself"

Ummm... years of conditioning and workplace bias would argue it's more complicated than that.

Better advice: Implement a process to create visibility into your work and career goals, in a way that feels good. 

(This is possible - I teach women to do this all the time)

#2.  "Don't be too assertive" (you'll be seen as a b!*ch)

This advice keeps women small, and makes it impossible to confidently share your ideas and opinions. Frankly, women who aren't assertive are also not promoted. 

Better advice: Pair confident, assertive language with empathy and curiosity. Assertive does not have to mean aggressive. 

#3. "Find a mentor"

This seems like good advice, but women actually have more mentors than men do! People LOVE to tell us what to do. We don't really need more of it. 

Better advice: Find a sponsor, or develop a mentor into a sponsor. The difference is that a sponsor will champion you, open doors and advocate for you in the rooms you're not in.  

What's the worst career advice you've ever received??  

✌️💜

I became a successful executive (with ADHD)

And it came down to a single change I made:

I started playing to my strengths
And delegated, minimized or outsourced the rest

This is a really important concept 
That many of us overachievers don't seem to get

We think we need to do it all
And do it all perfectly

We often spend years trying to improve weaknesses
With minimal results

But once we get honest about where we are great and where we aren't

We can focus there and see a huge difference in our impact!

This was one of the pivotal changes I made that helped me go from struggling as a Director to a successful VP

Here's your Friday reminder: 

Whether it's ADHD, the way you grew up or any other thing that you think means you can't be an exec,

It's only true if you let it be

I'm living proof ✌️💜

♻️ Hit repost to spread the word!

There will always be more "qualified" men for that VP or C-level role

It's true.

Because even when there are an equal number of men and women coming in at the entry-level:

- Men are promoted on potential, and women on experience
- Women lose opportunities when pregnant or just back from mat leave
- Men are more likely to have sponsors due to the affinity bias
- Men are encouraged to apply for positions even when they don't meet all of the criteria 

The 'promotion gap' starts at the very first promotion to manager, 
(This is referred to as the 'broken rung')

This means more men make it to mid-level manager positions, 
Which increases the pool of available men for senior-level positions

And so on...

And the gap is even larger for white men and women of colour
With 'white men' being the only group that is overrepresented in the C-suite

So here are some 'wild' ideas:

1. Stop relying on years of experience in a role as your hiring criteria!

Instead, focus on the skills and traits you need
Which are typically more effective for finding a great candidate

2. Focus on culture add vs. culture fit
Don't hire the same people over and over

3. Consider a first-time female VP 
Who may not have been in the position before but is crushing it as a director 

Guess what? She's probably ready to make that leap

4. Encourage the young women on your teams to apply for positions they want, even if they aren't 100% qualified

Until we get serious about making these changes, the gap will continue to exist...

And the gap will continue to widen as you go up in a company.

My goal is to help narrow this gap 
Even a little bit

Who's with me? ✌️💜

♻️ Hit repost to spread the word

There's a real cost to being the 'only'
 
The only woman on the leadership team
And the only exec (or leader) in your friend group
 
Not only is this lonely,
It also puts you at a huge disadvantage!
 
I remember feeling like I was on an island
 
Because I had no one in my life who really understood what I was going through
 
I was balancing being an exec and a single mom
While all of the men on the team had stay-at-home wives
 
My friends were teachers and stay-at-home moms
And they didn't really even understand my job!
 
I think this is a conversation that needs to be had
So in today's newsletter, I do a deep dive on the real cost of being the 'only'
And what you can do about it
 
Happy reading ✌️💜

The following is an excerpt from my FREE Weekly Insights Newsletter. Subscribe now, and you’ll immediately get the full article delivered to your inbo

Open article: The real cost of being the 'only' by Katy McFee • 3 min read

Women spend 200+ more hrs per year on non-promotable tasks, 

Compared to our male counterparts

These tasks include things like:

- Organizing the Christmas party
- Informally onboarding new hires
- Taking notes or ordering lunches
- Volunteering for extra committees
- Emotional support for colleagues and reports
- DEI or culture work WITHOUT authority or budget

Ladies, if this is you, 

And especially if you've been trying to land a Sr. Director or VP role

This is not serving you!
In fact, it's holding you back. 

Yes, everyone appreciates you
The team would fall apart without you

And you're also not getting tapped for that next role
Because this type of 'irreplaceable' is also unpromotable

This week's episode of More Women Promoted dives into this very topic
AND I give you some actionable and tactical next steps you can take today

Check it out anywhere you get your podcasts 
I'll link it in the comments

Time to go from helpful to promoted ladies! ✌️💜

It’s not your boss’ job to promote you
It’s your job to show them you’re ready

It’s not your partner’s job to make you happy
It’s your job to make yourself happy

It’s not your trainer’s job to get you in shape
It’s your job to do the work every day

Once you start to take real accountability for your life and career
The magic happens.

No one to blame. 
No excuses.

And no limit to what you can accomplish. ✌️💜

PS. If you're a woman looking to land a director or VP role and you're ready to do the work, join my free masterclass today (or tomorrow)

I'll help you figure out exactly what's blocking you today and how to get to that next level.

Sign up here: insightstoactioncc(dot)com/masterclass 

Follow me Katy McFee for daily posts for women in leadership

Ever been told you need to be more 'strategic'? 
 
I have! 
 
I knew it was standing between me and a VP role, 
 
And the hardest part was that I had no idea what I needed to do to come across as more strategic. 
 
Every time I asked my manager (our CEO) 
I got some kind of vague answer, 

And because of this it took me years of trial and error
To finally learn what it took to become an exec
 
Years later I was thinking about this and it hit me, 
 
He didn't tell me what I needed to do, because HE didn't know either! 

He knew I wasn't quite there yet
But he didn't know how to coach and mentor me to get there
 
The truth is, sometimes you need help outside of your manager. 
 
That's where I come in. 

Join my free masterclass today where I help you pinpoint what's holding you back and what to do about it.

This is exactly the type of clarity I wish someone had given me!

Grab your spot here: insightstoactioncc(dot)com/masterclass

Hard truth: It may not be your fault you're struggling

But it IS your responsibility to fix it

And that sucks, but the sooner we learn it
The sooner we can take action to change things

No one teaches us how to navigate our careers
And no one teaches us how to become an executive

We're left to just figure it out on our own

So it's no wonder most people get stuck and aren't sure how to advance
They hit the dreaded career plateau and have no idea what to do

It hit one as a manager, and then again as a director

Here's what I see happen:
Early in your career, you work harder than everyone else
And you do the work you're assigned perfectly,
As a result, you get promoted

So you keep trying to outwork your colleagues,
Putting up your hand for extra projects
Executing on your goals flawlessly

But this time... nothing

You're waiting for that next promotion because you're doing ALL the things. 

You're working crazy hard. 
You're doing exactly what you've been told to do.

And the promotion isn't coming

Maybe your colleague gets promoted ahead of you, even though he started a year after
And works half as hard as you do

Or they decide to fill the role externally

The truth is, what got you here, won't get you there.

But here's another truth: 
YOU need to be the one to change

If what you've been doing isn't working
You're the one who needs to start doing things differently

The good news is: this is 100% learnable!

Find a mentor or sponsor who can give you some real guidance

And this is exactly what I do with the women I work with.

Curious to know more?
Send me a DM and let's chat. 

✌💜

Curious why wealth tends to be passed down through generations?
 
Yes, there are advantages, like going to a good school
But the biggest thing is the access
 
The people we spend time with and learn from have a huge impact on our success
 
The good news is, even if you didn't grow up with money
You can intentionally surround yourself with people who inspire and motivate you
 
I credit so much of my success to the people I've met and learned from
 
And this is true in my business today
 
In today's newsletter, I talk about the power of finding your people
- I share the 3 types of people and groups who have impacted my success most
- And how you can start finding them
 
Happy reading ✌️💜

The following is an excerpt from my FREE Weekly Insights Newsletter. Subscribe now and you’ll immediately get the full article delivered to your inbox

Open article: The power of finding your 'people' by Katy McFee • 3 min read

My LinkedIn engagement is WAY down, and yet...

I've just had the highest revenue month in my business to date
And the month isn't even over yet

My business is growing super fast
And I'm seeing real-world impact for my clients
DMs about VP promotions every week!

But if I were just looking at the performance of my content
It would look like things are just so-so

Why am I telling you this?

Because - just like you - I can get distracted by metrics that don't really matter
Instead of focusing on what's really moving the needle

If you want to be a social media influencer
Then yes, focus on all of those metrics that we call 'vanity metrics' 
Because they matter for things like brand sponsorships 

But if you're trying to build a business
Or become a thought leader while working in corporate

These metrics probably aren't worth stressing over

Focus on helping just one person
And you'll resonate with the right people

I know many examples of people with highly successful businesses
Who aren't crushing it when it comes to LinkedIn content

And I know many people with high engagement and big followings
Who are struggling to grow their businesses

My 2 cents?
Decide what truly matters and focus on that ✌️💜 

PS. It is snowy and freezing where I am, but I'm posting a photo of where I wish I was right now!

I didn't stay in my director role out of loyalty!

The truth? It was out of fear. 
Fear that I just wasn't that good. 

I had stopped growing in my current role 
And I knew that I wanted to become a VP

But I didn't feel as though I had crushed it
Because we were consistently falling short of our goals

And I was continuously being told I wasn't ready for the next step

In my mind, if I couldn't get promoted at my current company
It meant that I was not VP material anywhere else either

This was just not true!

I discovered that the stage and culture of a company 
Have a huge impact on your success

This is exactly what happened with me
At company A I struggled to grow revenue to a few million ARR
At company B I grew the existing revenue by 8 figures! 

Some people crush it at early stage startups
Some shine at scaling stage companies (like me)
And some do best at large, multi-national companies

If you're feeling stuck where you are
Consider that it may not be a 'you' thing

You may just be in the wrong place

And as scary as it may feel
The best things you can do is to move on ✌️💜 

♻️ Give this a repost if more ppl need to hear it!

Too many 'nice' women are giving away their promotion
 
You're saying 'yes' to every little thing
You're doing it yourself because it's faster and you'll do a better job
You're making sure that you do your job 100% perfectly, to make your boss happy
 
And... when promotion time comes
You watch your colleague land the role that you know is right for you
 
In today's newsletter, I dive into 3 pitfalls -
Things that, as women, we do that we think are helping
But are actually hurting us and our promotability
 
Learn what they are,
Why they're hurting your career,
And what to do instead
 
Happy reading ✌️💜

Open article: The 3 pitfalls that keep talented women stuck by Katy McFee • 3 min read

The 3 pitfalls that keep talented women stuck

Being the hardest worker does not get you promoted

In fact, no amount of knowledge, skills, or work ethic matters 
If you aren't sharing your ideas in the right way
And creating visibility into what you do

Hard truth. 

Here are 3 things that will help you advance better than working harder:

- Delivering your opinions and ideas with confidence
- Creating visibility into your wins and accomplishments 
- Taking control of your career path and investing in yourself

Working hard with your head down and hoping someone will notice may feel like the 'nice' thing to do...

But it's not. Really.

The 'nice' thing to do for your company is to share your ideas. 

The 'nice' thing to do for your colleagues is to challenge them when needed.

The 'nice' thing to do for yourself is to take control and create the career you want.

If you struggle to speak up and create visibility,
The good news is that you can learn to do this!

You can get a coach,
You can do the mindset work,
You can make it happen for yourself

You've got this ✌️💜 

PS. We talk about this topic a LOT in my program!! If you want to learn more about how I can help you go from invisible to promoted, send me a DM!!

When we wrapped up a recent cohort, 3 of the women said that it was more valuable THAN THEIR MBA!

Shivani writes a weekly newsletter with 12,100+ subscribers. She provides practical and vulnerable advice to help you excel at work, combat imposter syndrome, get buy-in from difficult stakeholders, and advocate for yourself. 

Shivani is the CEO & Founder of Career Mama, a leadership program to help high-performing moms get promoted while being present with their kids (virtual). It is a Fair Play recommended resource. Participants are from top companies including Google, Uber, and Salesforce.

Highlights:
↳ High-performing women at Fortune 500 companies have been promoted 3.7x faster than their peers after being coached by Shivani. Technology companies report their participants have 98% retention.
↳ Featured in the Wall Street Journal, Lenny's Newsletter, Forbes, and First Round Review.
↳ LinkedIn recognized her as the Top Voice for Leadership. Shivani is a LinkedIn Learning instructor. 
↳ Harvard MBA and former Product Leader in Technology
↳ Mama to Reya & Kobe 

Subscribe to the newsletter (free): https://careermama.com/newsletter

Email shivani@careermama.com for business enquiries.

Shivani Berry

She took Burberry sales to $1.5B, Apple retail past $50B, and became Apple’s highest-paid executive.

Angela Ahrendts grew up in Indiana. 

As a kid, she had her heart set on becoming a designer. 

But at Ball State University, a professor told her she’d excel as a merchant. So she pivoted to marketing and merchandising.

The day after her graduation, she moved to New York.

Her first job was at Donna Karan, then she briefly joined Henri Bendel, and by 1998, she became VP at Liz Claiborne, overseeing 22 brands.

In 2006, she became the CEO of Burberry, a 150-year-old brand that had lost its shine.  She transformed Burberry:

• Bought back 23 licenses to regain control.
• Moved fashion shows to London from Milan to reaffirm its British roots.
• Doubled sales from around $700 million to over $1.5 billion.
• Made Burberry the most digitally advanced luxury brand of its time.
 
Her turnaround caught Tim Cook’s eye. But Angela resisted: “I’m not a techie.” 

But what Cook wanted wasn’t tech. It was her ability to humanize a brand. And he convinced her.

In 2014, she became Apple's Senior VP of Retail- the FIRST woman on its senior executive team:

• Turned Apple stores into community hubs
• Helped drive Apple retail past $50 billion.
• Advanced inclusivity by investing in women and underrepresented voices.

And in 2017, she became the highest-paid executive at Apple (earning even more than Tim Cook!)

But Angela didn’t stop there:

After stepping down from Apple, she joined the boards of Airbnb, Ralph Lauren, and WPP.

In 2023, became a senior operating adviser at Kim Kardashian’s PE firm SKKY Partners.

Angela lives by one philosophy: 

“If you make too perfect of a plan, you're going to miss all of the other opportunities.”

Her instinctive leadership has earned her titles like:

• Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Women in the World
• Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year
• CNBC’s European Business Leader of the Future 
 
👏 Such an ICON!
----

♻️ Repost this so more women can be inspired by Angela’s journey. 
🔔 Follow me for more stories of women breaking barriers and rewriting leadership.

Helping high-performing moms excel l CEO & Founder @ Career Mama l Follow for Leadership, Career, and Working Mom insights l LinkedIn Learning instructor

She was rejected from 20+ jobs after Harvard. Then, she joined a company nobody believed in, and took it public at $6B in 2021.
 
Anjali Sud was born to Indian immigrant parents in Flint, Michigan.
 
At 13, she left home for boarding school.
 
But she felt like an outsider everywhere she went.
 
She didn’t have the Wall Street connections her classmates at Wharton and Harvard had.
 
After business school, she was rejected from every dream job. 💔
 
But what looked like failure became her greatest gift.
 
She joined Amazon in its scrappy years, where she learned how to build from the ground up.
 
Then she joined Vimeo as their Head of Marketing - a company most people dismissed as “YouTube’s smaller cousin.”
 
Soon, she became General Manager of their core business, and began building tools for creators: monetization, hosting, video review & collaboration tools.
 
Instead of trying to beat YouTube at its own game, Anjali pitched a bold counter-vision:
 
Vimeo should be the world’s leading video tools platform, not a content producer.
 
Her customer-first mindset (inherited from Amazon) drove her to start every product by imagining the user’s experience, even before writing code.
 
She also believed in choosing long-term value over short-term profits.
 
She took Vimeo public at a $6 billion valuation.
 
And when she moved on to lead Tubi, she once again brought that same outsider’s clarity.
 
Under her leadership, Tubi crossed 100 million monthly active users, hit $1 billion+ revenue, and achieved a record-high share of TV streaming viewership.
 
For every woman who’s told:
 
“You don’t belong.”
 
“You’re too ambitious.”
 
“You’re just a dreamer.”
 
Anjali’s story is proof:
 
You don’t need to start at the top.
 
You don’t need perfect credentials.
 
Just be you. And that’s enough.

----
 
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CEO & Founder @ Career Mama l Follow for Leadership, Career, and Working Mom insights l LinkedIn Learning instructor

No engineering degree. 
Now she's Netflix's first woman CTO, shaping how 300M+ people experience the product.

Elizabeth Stone didn’t start in tech.

She started on Wall Street. As a trader.

Then became an economist.

Most people would’ve stayed in that lane.

But Elizabeth pivoted.

Before Netflix, she held leadership roles at Lyft.

Then became COO at Nuna.

In 2020, she joined Netflix.

Three years later?

She became the Chief Technology Officer.

The woman without an engineering degree now runs: 

↳ Streaming for 300M+ users 
↳ The algorithm deciding what you watch next 
↳ The ad platform with 94M+ subscribers

She’s part of the team building what comes next.

But what makes Elizabeth truly inspiring isn’t just the title.

It’s how she thinks about leadership.

She once described Netflix’s culture as being built around feedback that actually helps people improve.

Not annual reviews.

Not corporate theatre.

Real clarity. In real time.

The best leaders don’t hide behind process.

They build teams that get sharper every week.

Elizabeth Stone is proof:

You don’t need the ‘right background’ to earn the biggest seat.

You need courage to pivot to your calling.

👏 Such an ICON!

The non-traditional route might be your edge.

----

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She is an immigrant woman who built the world’s largest shipping company (≈$100B valuation). And she is a self-made billionaire worth $38.9B.

Rafaela Aponte-Diamant was born in 1945 in Haifa, then part of Mandatory Palestine.

Her family later moved to Switzerland with no safety net. 

In the late 1960s, Rafaela boarded a ferry from Naples to Capri.
The captain was Gianluigi Aponte. They fell in love and got married.

And in 1970, they made a life-changing decision.
With a $200,000 loan, they bought a single second-hand cargo ship named Patricia.

That was the beginning of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, a company that moves goods across oceans.

Instead of competing with established giants on popular routes, they decided to choose a different path:
- Operated on overlooked shipping lines between Europe and Africa.
- Bought used ships to keep costs low

One ship became two. Two became four. By 1979, they owned 17 ships.

In 1988, they took another risk.
They entered the cruise business. That bet became MSC Cruises, now one of the world’s largest cruise companies.

They kept expanding, building a full logistics ecosystem. Cargo ships, ports, inland transport, and cruises. Everything connected.

Today, MSC is the largest container shipping company in the world:
900+ ships, 675+ offices, operations in 155 countries, 150,000 employees, and 520+ ports served.

And still no IPO, no dilution. 100% family-owned.

Rafaela and Gianluigi each own 50%.

Rafaela is now 80 years and has always avoided formal executive titles. 
But insiders say her role has always been decisive- from long-term strategy to shaping MSC Cruises’ design. 

She even created the MSC Foundation, which has donated $14 M to humanitarian and conservation efforts.

Her net worth is ~$38.9B.

Her story is a reminder that some of the biggest empires aren’t built loudly. They’re built patiently. Across decades. Across oceans.

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Helping high-performing moms get promoted l CEO & Founder @ Career Mama l LinkedIn Learning instructor l Follow for Leadership, Career, and Working Mom insights

In 2011, she took over a small nonprofit. Today, it supports over 1 million vulnerable children. She was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People. 

Norah Weinstein grew up between New York and Los Angeles.  

She studied at UC Berkeley. Then, earned her law degree from USC.
 
She began her career as a corporate lawyer.  

But one truth kept pulling her back.
 
Too many families were one crisis away from losing everything.
 
In 2011, Norah and her partner, Kelly Sawyer Patricof, became Co-CEOs of Baby2Baby, a small nonprofit providing essentials for children in need.
 
In the beginning, it was pure grassroots work.  

A few volunteers.
Donated goods.
Diapers and formula for parents who couldn’t afford them.
 
Over time, Norah helped build the foundation: 

Systems. Partnerships. And a clear vision.
 
They listened closely to families and frontline organizations.  

They asked one simple question:  

What do children actually need?
 
Then Baby2Baby grew.
 
↳ 1M+ children served nationwide  
↳ 300+ cities reached  
↳ 450M+ essential items distributed  
↳ Partnerships with FEMA, schools, shelters, hospitals, and food banks
 
They even built their own diaper manufacturing.  

Making diapers 80% cheaper than retail.
 
When disasters hit (wildfires, floods, pandemics), they showed up.
 
With millions of diapers, baby food formula, blankets, and emergency kits.
 
They'd deliver to families who lost homes, income, and stability.
 
But her work goes beyond logistics.
 
It’s advocacy.  

Ending the diaper tax in California.  
Pushing for policies that support families, not punish them.
 
Norah didn’t start with fame or influence.
 
She started with empathy.  And the belief that small things can change a family’s future.
 
She didn’t just grow an organization.
 
She built a movement.

----

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